(2021-02-04). Bay Area movement: 'Mass releases, not mass deaths!'. workers.org 
Oakland, Calif. Courtney Morris of No Justice Under Capitalism speaks at Port of Oakland rally. Jan. 31 — Today as a plane pulled a banner, "Newsom: Free prisoners 2 stop Covid deaths," through the sky over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, protesters held signs against "State execution by COVID 19" . . . |
(2021-02-04). 111 NGOs Call On Biden To Close Guantánamo. popularresistance.org On February 2, more than a hundred non-governmental organizations joined a letter led by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Center for Victims of Torture, urging President Joe Biden to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba and end indefinite military detention. The letter is signed by organizations ranging from those working to end anti-Muslim discrimination and torture to immigrant rights organizations and organizations working broadly on civil rights, civil liberties, and racial justice at the national and local level. It emphasizes the devastating and ongoing consequences of the prison, including…
(2021-02-04). DeRay Mckesson — Policing is the laziest response. therealnews.com 
This week, civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson highlights some alarming statistics about police violence, which continued unabated in 2020 despite nationwide protests, and recounts his years as a teacher, connecting his pedagogical practice to his calling as an activist.
(2021-02-04). Anita Torrez, Southwestern labor leader and Communist activist, dies at 94. peoplesworld.org 
The American working class suffered a great loss on Jan. 31 with the passing of Anita Torrez. Torrez, who celebrated her 94th birthday last fall, spent almost her entire adult life in the struggles for economic justice and against racist and sexist discrimination. Born and raised by farmworkers in the small farming village of Gila, in Southwestern New …
(2021-02-04). The Heat: Russia politics. america.cgtn.com 
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny sentenced to jail in a move criticized by western nations. How will his arrest impact U.S.-Russia relations?>
(2021-02-04). I Was Shackled to My Bed After Giving Birth. Then They Took My Baby Away. truthout.org 
I'm R87914. Even though I'm no longer in prison, that number, just like my social security number and name, will never change. I'm also a proud mom and a new one at that. There were no balloons or cards, no flowers or family allowed in the delivery room at the time of my daughter Aniela's birth. | The prison where I was incarcerated wouldn't allow mothers-to-be to go into labor naturally. Too inconvenient. Each birth was scheduled ahead of time. Mothers were not told until the morning of their sch…
(2021-02-04). Brutal Alabama prison attack on incarcerated workers. workers.org 
Occupied Muscogee Creek Land Events in this report happened on the next to last day of a month-long strike and "economic black-out" of Alabama state prisons, led by incarcerated workers and called by the Free Alabama Movement. For more on the strike, see Workers World, Dec. 4, 2020. On the . . . |
(2021-02-04). Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize. truthout.org 
Truthout is proud to launch the Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize. | This prize will go to a formerly incarcerated person for an essay of 1,500 words or less on the topic of prisons, policing or a related subject. It may be written as a first-person narrative (although that is not a requirement). Two winners will be chosen and awarded a prize of $3,000 each. The essays will be published on Truthout. | This prize is in honor of Keeley Schenwar, who was a devoted mother, daughter, sister, friend, writer and advocate for incarcerat…
(2021-02-04). Mass Rapes. Sweeping Surveillance. Forced Labor. Exposing China's Crackdown on Uyghur Muslims. democracynow.org 
China faces widespread condemnation following a BBC report about the mass rape and sexual torture of Uyghur women and other Muslims detained in the province of Xinjiang. Women who spoke with the BBC described gang rapes, routine sexual torture using electrocution tools, forced sterilizations and men outside the prison camps paying for access to the detainees. China has rejected the report as "wholly without factual basis" and claims its mass detention of Muslim minorities is part of a "vocational training" program to counter extremism. Meanwhile, The Intercept has obtained a massive police surveillance database u…
(2021-02-04). Belgium court sentences Iranian envoy to 20 years in jail over Paris bomb plot. middleeasteye.net 
Belgium court sentences Iranian envoy to 20 years in jail over Paris bomb plot | Antwerp trial was the first of an Iranian official for suspected terrorism in Europe since Iran's 1979 revolution | Thu, 02/04/2021 – 14: 08 | A heavily armed policeman stands outside the courthouse in Antwerp (AFP) | An Iranian diplomat accused of planning to bomb a meeting of an exiled opposition group was s…
(2021-02-04). Iran: Human rights experts condemn execution of Baloch minority prisoner. news.un.org United Nations independent human rights experts on Thursday, condemned the hanging of a prisoner from the Baloch minority in Iran, voicing fear that a "disturbing" recent increase in executions of community members "will continue".
(2021-02-04). I'm for Abolition. And Yet I Want the Capitol Rioters in Prison. thenation.com I'm for Abolition. And Yet I Want the Capitol Rioters in Prison.
(2021-02-04). 50 Bangladesh opposition leaders jailed for attack on Hasina 2 decades ago. laprensalatina.com Dhaka, Feb 4 (efe-epa).- A Bangladesh court on Thursday sent 50 opposition members up to 10 years in jail after finding them guilty in an attack on a motorcade of Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina nearly two decades ago. The motorcade of the incumbent prime minister came under attack in August 2002, when she was …
(2021-02-04). Dehumanization Through the Dynamics of Racial Discrimination. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | "It is race, is it not, that puts the hundred millions …
(2021-02-04). New report shows persistent racial and ethnic disparities in youth incarcerations. nationofchange.org While youth incarceration has dropped by almost half over the last decade, Back and American Indian youth are more likely to be incarcerated than white youth.
(2021-02-04). Black Lives Matter Deserves Nobel Prize. progressive.org The organization touched a chord in this land and overseas by making us acknowledge that racism is a scourge on human progress.
(2021-02-03). The Lesson Of The BLM Protests: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Remember when Americans shook the earth with massive protests demanding an end to the police state and the entire liberal establishment just kept saying "I hear you, I agree with you" and then did absolutely nothing to even reduce police brutality? It's important to remember such lessons. | People would ask me "Why are you supporting Black Lives Matter Caitlin? Don't you see all the corporations and corporate Dems support it? Why would they do that if it didn't serve them?" This is why they did it. Empty words of support can defuse a situation far easier than open opposition. | Imagine if all the plutocrats, pun…
(2021-02-03). The time is now for Leonard Peltier's freedom! liberationnews.org 
February 6, 2021 will mark 45 years of Leonard's unjust imprisonment. In 1976 the FBI's false claims led to Leonard's extradition from Canada to face trial in the United States. It is not time to be discouraged, it is time to continue the fight!
(2021-02-03). November 17th, 1973 and the Legacy of State Terror. dissidentvoice.org 
In a prison hospital in Athens, Greece, a man named Dimitris Koufontinas lies unconscious most of the time. Almost a month into a water-only hunger strike, one of his tremendously weakened organs could fail, and he could die at any moment. As always, there's a lot happening in the world. Ongoing wars between countries, civil …
(2021-02-03). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. commondreams.org Allowing the Trumpian half of his brain to overpower his judgment and vote to acquit Dangerous Donald would spell disaster for the Republican Party (assuming the Democratic Party doesn't go to sleep as it did after Obama's win in 2008). | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/mcconnell_biden_0.jpg …
(2021-02-03). Headlines for February 3, 2021. democracynow.org Democrats Say Trump "Singularly Responsible" for Jan. 6 Insurrection in Impeachment Brief, U.S. to Start Sending Vaccines to Pharmacies; Single AstraZeneca Shot Cuts Transmission by 67%, Senate Confirms Alejandro Mayorkas as DHS Chief, Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary, Senator Warren to Introduce Wealth Tax on Households Worth Over $50 Million, Kevin McCarthy Weighs Removing Marjorie Taylor Greene from Education Committee After Bipartisan Condemnation, Alexei Navalny Receives 3.5 Years in Prison Amid Mass Protests, Healthcare Workers in West Bank Receive Vaccines from Israel While Other Palestinians Mad…
(2021-02-03). Russian journalist Sergey Smirnov jailed for 25 days on charges of inciting people to attend pro-Navalny protests. rt.com 
The editor of Moscow-based news website Mediazona, founded by members of the Pussy Riot punk band, has been handed 25 days behind bars for promoting demonstrations in support of imprisoned opposition figure Alexey Navalny. | On Wednesday, the Tverskoy Court in Moscow read out the sentence for charges relating to repeated violation of a ban on holding mass events. Protests and other unauthorized public gatherings are banned in the capital, and many other Russian regions, under rules aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19. The charges could have carried up to 30 days in prison. | Mediazona claims that Smirnov w…
(2021-02-03). Supreme Court pauses Trump immigration cases, as Biden plans to overturn Trump policies & orders a review of 'kids in cages'. rt.com 
The US Supreme Court has canceled arguments on two Trump-era immigration and border security cases, as President Joe Biden eases Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policies. However, the controversial detention of minors continues. | The cases related to Trump's use of military funding to build his long-promised wall on the US-Mexico border, and his "remain in Mexico" asylum policy that required Central American migrants to wait in Mexico while their US asylum claims were processed. Both cases had been challenged by lower courts, and the Supreme Court was preparing to hear oral arguments in their favor until the…
(2021-02-03). Lawsuit Filed Over Migrant Deaths at U.S.-Mexico Border. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-02-03). MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell gets his company banned from Twitter, provokes Newsmax host to WALK OFF SET with election-fraud claims. rt.com 
Twitter has banished MyPillow after company founder Mike Lindell used the account to reiterate claims of election fraud and accuse the social media platform's chief executive, Jack Dorsey, of being "tied into" the alleged crimes. | "Jack Dorsey is trying to cancel me (Mike Lindell) out," Lindell tweeted through MyPillow's account on Sunday, in a message thanking supporters who ordered pillows after Kohl's and other major retailers stopped carrying the company's products. "We are extremely busy and hiring as fast as we can to handle all the shipping. Jack (Dorsey) will be found out and should be put in prison w…
(2021-02-03). 'Martyr Soleimani expanded Iran's experience in resistance'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 03 (MNA) — Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General said that Lt. General Soleimani internationalized the Iranian experience in resisting oppression.
(2021-02-03). Over 1,400 arrested after Putin critic Navalny jailed in Russia. laprensalatina.com Moscow, Feb 3 (efe-epa).- Russian police have arrested more than 1,400 people from various places during overnight protests to support jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, a rights monitoring group said on Wednesday. The OVD-Info that keeps track of political persecutions in Russia said the police detained 1,145 protesters from Moscow streets. Nearly 250 were arrested …
(2021-02-03). DOJ Drops Trump Initiated Lawsuit Accusing Yale of Discrimination Against Asian, White Applicants. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US government dropped a Trump administration lawsuit accusing Yale University of discriminating against Asian and White applicants for undergraduate admission, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
(2021-02-03). Saturday 2/13: Remembering EO 9066: The Suvivors of U.S. Japanese American Prison Camps WWII. indybay.org Online event…
(2021-02-03). Friday 2/19: UC Berkeley Day of Remembrance of E.O. 9066 Japanese American Prison Camps WWII. indybay.org Virtual event…
(2021-02-03). Biden's Private Prison Reform Must Include Immigration Detention Centers. commondreams.org To fully address profit-driven punishment, the Biden administration will need to take aim at every tendril of the private prison industry. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/privateprisons.jpg …
(2021-02-03). Tackling Prison Profiteers Will Take More Than Banning Private Prisons. zcomm.org To fully address profit-driven punishment, the Biden administration will need to take aim at every tendril of the private prison industry — including immigration detention centers…
(2021-02-03). Russia: UN rights office 'deeply dismayed' by Navalny sentencing. news.un.org The UN human rights office, OHCHR, expressed dismay on Wednesday over the sentencing of Russian opposition politician and activist Aleksei Navalny, and urged the authorities to release scores of his supporters arrested during rallies protesting his detention.
(2021-02-03). I Don't Just Want Trump Impeached. I Want Him Jailed. thenation.com I Don't Just Want Trump Impeached. I Want Him Jailed.
(2021-02-03). Detained Medevac refugees call for support. greenleft.org.au Refugee rights supporters gathered outside the Park Hotel prison again to demand the detainees be released and for all detention centres to be closed down. Chloe DS reports.
(2021-02-03). Racial Inequality, Institutional Discrimination: The "Great Awokening" in Global and Class Context. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | From 1972 to 2010, at three church-related colleges and one public …
(2021-02-03). Sunday 2/7: Free Nasrin and ALL Iran's Political Prisoners: Heroism for These Times. indybay.org Revolution Books, 2444 Durant Ave. Berkeley CA 94704…
(2021-02-02). Prisionero de Pensilvania en crisis de COVID — Los guardias eran los transmisores. workers.org 
Por Miley Selena Fletcher SCI Forest, Marienville, Pensilvania. Durante ocho meses, el Bosque de la Institución Correccional Estatal (SCI), donde estoy encarcelada, no tuvo ningún caso de COVID-19. La administración de la institución quedó impresionada por los números cero. Pero a principios de diciembre del 2020, el virus golpeó . . . |
(2021-02-02). Defend Boƒüaziàßi University students against police state repression! wsws.org The Socialist Equality Group in Turkey condemns the police attacks and detention of more than 150 students yesterday at Boƒüaziàßi University and in ƒ∞zmir.
(2021-02-02). Germany Rejects French Call to Scrap Russia Gas Pipeline Over Navalny. anti-empire.com 
France on Monday urged Germany to scrap a major gas pipeline project with Russia in protest over the detention in Moscow of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but the plea fell on deaf ears in Berlin. | "We have always said we have the greatest doubts on this project in this context," European Affairs minister Clement Beaune told France Inter radio. | Asked specifically if France wanted Berlin to drop the project, Beaune said: "Indeed, we have already said this." | Nord Stream 2 is a 10 billion euro ($11 billion) pipeline that will run beneath the Baltic Sea and is set to double Russian natural-gas shipments to Ge…
(2021-02-02). Facility for 'Quarantine Objectors' in Germany Ready for Inmates. anti-empire.com 
Machine translated from German | Today is the official start, but so far the rooms have not been used. Until Friday afternoon it was not foreseeable that the districts would already make use of the accommodation, said a spokeswoman for the district assembly. In the building on the grounds of the Moltsfelde juvenile detention center in Neumàºnster, there is space for up to six quarantine objectors. The cells are each twelve square meters in size and the facility is closed from the outside. The operator is the Segeberg district and makes them available to the other districts and independent cities. | Housi…
(2021-02-02). Alexey Navalny jailed for over 2.5 years as Moscow Court says he violated terms of suspended sentence in 'Yves Rocher' fraud case. rt.com 
Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny will serve two years and almost eight months in prison after being found guilty of breaking the terms of a suspended sentence, handed down for an embezzlement case in 2014. | On Tuesday, Moscow City Court ruled that Navalny had failed to regularly report to the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), and his excuse for non-appearance was deemed insufficient. Therefore, the judge decided that the suspended judgment should be converted into a real one. | The anti-corruption activist was originally sentenced in 2014 to three-and-a-half years, but he has already served close t…
(2021-02-02). Moscow slams West's 'foreign interference' as US & EU issue statements condemning jail sentence for opposition figure Navalny. rt.com As condemnation poured in from western leaders after a Moscow court sentenced opposition figure Alexey Navalny to nearly three years in prison, the Russian government cautioned the concerned westerners to mind their own business. | "Don't meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. And we recommend that everyone deals with their own problems," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Moscow news outlet RBK on Tuesday. | "Believe me," she added, "there are enough of their own problems in these countries, there are plenty of issues to deal with." | Shortly before Zakharova spoke, Moscow's Simon…
(2021-02-02). 'Slow-motion genocide': West Papuan liberation leader describes Indonesian occupation. peoplesworld.org 
This article was first published in Morning Star on Jan. 29, 2021. It has been an incredible journey for exiled West Papuan leader Benny Wenda. From a childhood spent living in poverty in the mountains where he witnessed his auntie being raped by Indonesian soldiers to a daring escape from prison in 2002, his "long …
(2021-02-02). Illinois May Be First State to Eliminate Money Bail, But the Fight Isn't Over. truthout.org 
On January 13, the Illinois legislature passed the Once fully implemented in 2023, the Pretrial Fairness Act will make Illinois's pretrial syste…
(2021-02-02). Moscow slams West's 'foreign interference' as US and EU react to Navalny sentence. rt.com Condemnation poured in from western leaders after a Moscow court sentenced opposition figure Alexey Navalny to nearly three years in prison. The Russian government cautioned the concerned westerners to mind their own business. | "Don't meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. And we recommend that everyone deals with their own problems," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian broadcaster RBC on Tuesday. | "Believe me," she added, "there are enough of their own problems in these countries, there are plenty of issues to deal with." | Shortly before Zakharova spoke, the Moscow City…
(2021-02-02). The nation can't afford Republicans' stimulus sabotage. peoplesworld.org 
In his first ten days in office, Joe Biden launched an intense effort to address the "cascading crises" that America faces. In addition to issuing executive orders to reverse several of Trump's most poisonous acts—ending federal contracting with private prisons, reviving enforcement of discrimination laws, ending the Muslim ban, re-entering the Paris Climate Accord, and …
(2021-02-02). Alexei Navalny Faces "Kafkaesque" Charges in Russia for Breaking Parole While in Poison-Induced Coma. democracynow.org 
Russian authorities have arrested thousands of people during anti-government protests in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been held in jail since returning to Russia on January 17 after recovering in Germany from an attempt on his life in August using the nerve agent Novichok. Navalny has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind the poisoning that nearly killed him. While Navalny has emerged as Russia's leading opposition figure and anti-corruption campaigner, his political roots have links to right-wing nationalist and anti-immigrant causes. Joshua Yaffa, Moscow corresp…
(2021-02-02). Atrocities of the Federal Death Penalty. aclu.org In just six months, the federal government conducted an unprecedented, unjust, and unlawful execution spree, taking the lives of 13 people. The record of injustice in those cases — the compelling claims for mercy and legal relief by those executed and the denial without fair consideration by the executive branch or by the Supreme Court — underscores the urgency for President Biden to grant row-wide clemency to the 49 people on the federal death row. | Although it was William Barr and Donald Trump who scheduled and pushed these executions amidst a deadly pandemic, it was the U.S. Supreme Court that fac…
(2021-02-02). Google agrees to $3.8 million payout to settle US discrimination lawsuit. rt.com 
Tech giant Google has agreed to a $3.8 million settlement with the US Department of Labor after a lawsuit accusing the company of "systemic compensation and hiring discrimination" with thousands of women and Asian applicants. | The Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs investigated Google's actions between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2017, finding differences in the company's hiring rates between female and Asian individuals and other potential employees. | Google will distribute $1.3 million in backdated pay to 2,565 employees, and $1.2mn to over 3,000 applicants, as part o…